What is it?:
Perilous Tales is a Pulp horror
miniatures game based on the movies and serials of days long past.
It's currently in development and you can download it for free.
The setting:
While there isn't a real setting, per
say, the game is clearly inspired by old horror and science fiction
media from days past. Mostly, it's based around pulp fiction and
B-movies from the 1930s to the 1950s, meaning things could be set
anywhere from 1730 to 2230. It's all up to what models you want to
use and what kind of game you want to play.
The system:
Perilous Tales uses an interesting
system I've never really seen before. When you need to make a roll,
you roll two d10. One of these is the skill of the model and the
other is the difficulty you're aiming for (which means you're going
to need two different color dice). Some models have a set number they
can't roll below but, it might not be enough to make it.
One of the main selling points (you
know what I mean) for this game is that it's designed to be played
cooperatively or solo. That's right, you don't even need someone else
in your house to play this game. You control both the good and the
bad guys.
When you play solo, you get a group of
five; a Leader and four Teammates. Your Leader is, of course,
tougher, has more actions, and gets two special abilities. The
Teammates only get one special ability, so be careful with who gets
what, as some of them are one time use. There's no equipment to
manage, which I don't know how I feel about. On the one hand, it
could make your Teammates much more useful and allow for more
customization (as well as get rid of the one time use abilities). On
the other hand, I think it would take away from the simplicity the
game is going for. Maybe give them as an option instead of special
abilities? You can have one piece of equipment OR one ability. I
don't know. I say this because the special abilities are the only way
to make your Teammates unique. The special abilities seem balanced
over all, allowing you to make a tough guys, snipers, medics, etc.
That said, I wouldn't mind having something else to give them a few
tweaks. I'm not sure what you could add but I might have some after I
get in some games.
When it comes to the bad guys, things
get interesting. The first thing is that there's a bunch of different
villains (I'll get into it), each of which operate differently and
have a variety of different minions. When you set up the board, you
roll for for deployment of the “Threat Markers” that will
represent not only your villains and minions, but the other threats
as well. When you “reveal” the villains, they'll take actions
based on their attitude. Some are aggressive, some are sneaky, some
are half way between the two. The villains, and their minions, have
something like AI behavior like in a video game, more expansive and
complicated than I've seen in board games, and are suppose to take
the actions based on their type. Which makes it easier to play the
game solo. To determine what actions the villain and minions, you
have a check list based on their behavior. Of course, you're going to
have to keep track of what your villain or minion is going to do
depending on the situation.
Now, let's talk about the games, or
“episodes,” as they call them. Each episode is going to start
with rolling for where to place the Threat Markers. After that, you
can roll for or pick three Objectives. These Objectives can be as
simple as killing the villain or as complex as activating a set of
switches, with a lot in between. There's more than enough variety to
make each game unique and interesting. If you're picking Objectives,
you can make them fit your villain and location or what terrain you
have laying around. There's Idols and machines you'll have to
interact with, perfect for that thing that came as part of a pack
that you never thought you would use. You know the one. Yeah, that
one.
Once you have the Objectives figured
out, it's time to decide on what villain you're going to face. Again,
you can roll off or you can pick which ones you want to face. Each
villain comes with a set of minions and might even have some effects
they call Perils. Gee, I wonder why they picked that name? Anyway. I
suggest you pick your villains simply because you're going to need to
have a set of models to represent them. Some will be easy to do, as
they have swarms of vermin, townsfolk, and minor monsters. I'm sure
we all have some demons, werewolves, witches, and monsters laying
around in our collections, so you don't have to worry too much. But,
they have a Blob villain, as in the classic movie The Blob. This one
requires not only the main body of the creature but its pseudopods as
well. While I have a lot of stuff, I don't have those. I might invest
in some, however...
After you get all of that figured out,
you have to figure out where this Episode takes place. There's a
rather nice list of locations you can roll for, or pick, yet again.
As I said for villains, I suggest picking this one, too. Because
while the blob and robots work best on Moonbase X3000, I would have
trouble keeping a straight face while trying to hunt down a VooDoo
Priest in the same location. The game is played on a 2'x2' board, so
you'll want to probably pick one that matches not only your villain,
but your terrain and tiles (if you have some) as well. There's also a
“basic” location you can use, if you don't have the right stuff
for any of them. I think it's probably best to use this default one
for your first few games while you're still learning.
Now, once you've got your location
picked out, you need to look for the Perils that the location has. As
I mentioned, you've got Threat Markers out there on the board. When
you reveal them, you either get a villain, a minion, or a Peril. The
Perils are environmental effects for the location you're playing in
and should fit the theme of it. Using Moonbase X3000 again, you'll
have to worry about being low on oxygen. While most of these Perils
are the same you'll find in other locations, the ones for each
location should fit the theme of the location. If that makes sense...
Anyway. “Low on Oxygen” is the “A Thousand Cuts” Peril, which
you'll see in others. But, it's also there with meteor strike and low
gravity.
Alright, we've build our team of
heroes, figured out our villains, and where the episode takes place,
now what? Well, it's time to play. And that's the easy part. Your
Hero and their Teammates need to go around and trigger those Threat
Markers and complete the Objectives. Your models can move, shoot, and
fight in close combat, as well as anything else from the special
abilities. When you get close enough to a Threat Marker, you flip it
over, compare the number on the bottom to the list of villains,
minions, and Perils, and deal with the outcome.
As you play, the Threat Level will
increase and complicate things even further. Maybe your characters
will panic easier. Maybe the villain gets a health boost. The longer
the game takes, the worse you'll have it, so you'll want to end it as
quickly as possible.
And that's pretty much the game as it
stands right now. Since it's still in a beta form, things can change
a lot when it updates. I'm using the most recent version I have (from
June 23rd 2020). By the time I put this up, things could
have changed, so don't get too mad at me if I'm wrong.
Is it worth it?:
Right now? Hell yeah! It's free! And,
as we used to say around these parts, “free is a very good price”.
Since we can't go out and play games with our friends, a game
designed to be played solo is something we could all use right now.
Since all this costs is time (plus printing costs if you want to
print it out), this is worth your time to learn and play.
Even when this game does (hopefully)
get a full release, I'll gladly pick it up. I don't know a lot of
cooperative miniatures games out there, and with my love of the types
of fiction that this game was inspired by, so this makes it very
appealing.
Don't forget that they'll send out an
email every time a new version of the game is released, so you won't
have to keep checking.
And, since it's still in beta, let the
creator know what you think of it. Maybe you'll make it even better
and worth a physical release.
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